Sébastien Ogier still seduced Sainz

Regularly ranked in the top 6 of special stages, ahead of WRC more powerful than its Skoda Fabia S2000, Sébastien Ogier had made a strong impression since the start of the rally Monte Carlo. With the 3rd time of the first pass on the snowy roads of SS2 (Burzet to Saint-Martial), yesterday, and a 4th time in SS7 (Lamastre – Gilhoc to Alboussière), this morning, the Volkswagen Motorsport driver could have to be ranked 6th in the hierarchy this evening. At the start of the day, he had exchanged 5th place with Novikov on several occasions, but the Russian responded this afternoon, forcing Ogier to focus on the return of his compatriot François Delecour. Unfortunately for the show, the Gapençais went off the road in the final special of the day, SS10, Lamastre – Gilhoc? Alboussiere.

His performances had not gone unnoticed in the eyes of Carlos Sainz, consultant on behalf of the German manufacturer. “ Ogier was very impressive, he testified. For him, being ahead of cars that are one second per kilometer faster is very good. But in Monte Carlo, the choice of tires is the most important, and until the end he had everything right. With good tire fitting, you can widen the gap or lose your lead, not to mention the absence of “Rally 2” (the equivalent of the super-rally, which allowed you to start again the next day with a time penalty, to which Ogier would therefore not be entitled)”.

As for the team's second resident on this first round of the WRC season, the Dutchman Kevin Abbring, he is in 10th place in what constitutes his first outing on asphalt with the Skoda. “ Considering his lack of experience, that's good, admits Sainz. The important thing is that he finishes the rally and he seems to be on a good pace ».

Discover in your AUTOhebdo magazine, currently on newsstands or available here, our 2012-page 38 WRC Guide.